College Football Playoff 2025: First round first look - ESPN

Who's ready for a rematch?!

The College Football Playoff selection committee's final top 25 of the season produced a 12-team bracket that includes two regular-season rematches in the first round: No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss. Oklahoma beat Alabama, 23-21, on Nov. 15, and Ole Miss cruised to a 45-10 win against Tulane on Sept. 20.

And while No. 12 seed James Madison edged out five-loss ACC champion Duke and will face No. 5 Oregon, the ACC's best team will still have a chance to compete for the national title when No. 10 Miami travels to No. 7 Texas A&M.

Here's a closer look at those first-round matchups. — Heather Dinich

Jump to:
Alabama at Oklahoma
Miami at Texas A&M
Tulane at Ole Miss
James Madison at Oregon

When: Dec. 19, 8 p.m. ET. TV: ABC/ESPN

Road to the playoff: Despite losing 28-7 in the SEC championship game, Alabama got here based on the strength of its overall body of work — in particular a four-game stretch from the end of September through mid-October in which the Tide reeled off four straight Top 25 wins, starting with a victory at Georgia (which remains its best win of the season). That turnaround was somewhat unexpected considering the way Alabama opened the year, with a 31-17 loss to Florida State. Nothing about that performance indicated the Crimson Tide had the makings of being one of the best teams in college football. But quarterback Ty Simpson rebounded to have a good season, and the Alabama defense found its way, particularly against the run. This team certainly has flaws and is not playing its best football. But it also has the talent and ability to play with anyone.

Player to watch: Running back Jam Miller. The easy answer here is Simpson, who has been the